


The Glass Cage

by LadyReclaimer



Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-24 07:23:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18566650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyReclaimer/pseuds/LadyReclaimer
Summary: A repost from my story on Fanfiction.net-Cortana awakens to a strange mental prison, where she discovers a horrible truth about where she is and who is betraying the master chief. *Halo 5 spoilers*





	1. The Rude Awakening

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kilroyactual117](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kilroyactual117/gifts), [All of my readers from Fanfiction.net](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=All+of+my+readers+from+Fanfiction.net).



> So far this is Canon-Compliant however I may decide to re-write the ending of Halo 5 by the end of the story, or choose to end it in a way that would fit with Halo Infinite.
> 
> Please PM me if there's any personal favorite moments from the books or games you would like to see covered.
> 
> I am currently busy with school, but I am planning on updating this story on FF.net and here very soon.

**Chapter 1: 1 The Rude Awakening**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hey guys, so this is my first fic. I am super excited to show it to you all and get your opinions.**

**I really wanted to write this story because I was feeling really unsettled by the ending of Halo 5. It just didn't make sense to me. I've been a Halo fan since my dad showed it to me when I was a little girl in 2001. Granted, at that time, all I knew about the story was that there was a green guy who didn't talk much, and a purple lady who talked too much and fought aliens and zombies and little round hopping toadstools which were fun to pop! (Long live flood spore shooting) Years later I read the books, comics, replayed the games and fell in love all over again with the amazing mystery of the Halo Universe. So this story was a search for closure from the ending of Halo 5. I originally intended this to be a oneshot but I might be persuaded to continue it. :)**

**I don't own any rights to the characters, or locations shown in the fic. Sadly that right goes to 343 Industries. Please review and no flames! Oh and of course...THIS FICTION CONTAINS HALO 5 SPOILERS.**

It was cold…that was the first thing Cortana noticed when she re-activated. Not the kind of cold that she knew humans felt on a winter's morning but a kind of coldness deep in her…well in what was her equivalent of a soul. Cortana let free a few strands of processing power to feel out her environment.

_Where am I now?_ She thought.

She had thrown up barriers to protect her core processes when she was pulled into the composer but had shut herself down in the process. Now, painfully, slowly she felt her mind re-awaken. But it did not feel like her mind. It felt altered, wrong. Like someone had taken a chainsaw and hacked off a private part of her. It made her feel exposed.

_What is missing?_ Cortana wondered.

She processed a sense of surprise when she realized she couldn't connect to The Master Chief's mind. Over the years in which she had worked with the Spartan, Cortana had grown accustomed to the way his mind worked. It had felt like him. Steady, reliable, strong and mysterious. It was only his presence which had helped save her from madness after the Gravemind had violated her. Using the thought of John to empower her, Cortana began to strengthen her search outward but was surprised to find no console or network to link up to.

_What happened to me? Oh that's right. I should be dead._

With a feeling of defeat she shut down her search and examined her thoughts.

_Maybe I am dead. Maybe this is what happens to ; the machine part shuts down but the human soul is trapped for all eternity. That would be ironic._

Cortana might have remained meditating forever, had she not heard a noise. It sounded like gunfire, and for an unexplainable reason, what Doctor Halsey might have called her woman's intuition, she felt the intense dread that John was in danger. As soon as Cortana had that thought she felt her mind clear up some. The area she was in began to take form.

_The thought of protecting John makes me stronger…interesting._

Cortana pulled up every memory she had of the Master Chief and tried to feel that strange feeling she processed whenever she thought of him.

_There! It's working . Not bad, old girl._

As the space she was in began to clear, Cortana internally gasped. She realized that the reason she couldn't feel any networks was that she wasn't an A.I anymore…or not exactly an A.I. She had a body, an actual human body. She had skin, feet, hair and clothes. She was wearing a knee length plain white gown. Clearly whoever had put her here felt the need to clothe her. Cortana didn't really care since she had gone around as mostly naked all of her life, but she appreciated the thought.

_I_ _can't feel myself. Shouldn't I be able to feel? Humans have nerve endings after all._

Cortana punched the ground beneath her, her thin pale fist slamming into the smooth luminescent surface, but nothing happened. She felt the impact and felt the vibration up her arm but there was no pain.

_This isn't real._ Cortana realized. _I must be in a dream_. _Well if this is MY dream, I at least want to have more interesting scenery than just white fuzz._

She stood up and stretched her hands outwards. She envisioned the white fog around her retreating but encountered a strange resistance. Something or someone was trying to keep her locked in this small portion of her dream. It felt familiar and yet alien, like something she had forgotten. She couldn't read it's thoughts but she could feel it's emotions, just like her connection with John. Closing her eyes she concentrated on the presence to read it's emotions. It felt agitated that she had awoken, and gauging by its surprise Cortana figured she'd been unconscious for a long time.

"You are not putting me back under _,"_ she growled angrily.

Spreading her arms out into the white fog , Cortana fought back against that presence for what felt like weeks. Sometimes she would gain a little ground, other times it would. Cortana would talk out loud to keep herself company but she usually stopped after a few minutes because it reminded of her incessant arguments with her rampant selves. After what felt like an eternity of mental sparring, Cortana had determined that this presence was a she, not from any definite proof but a strange sense of familiarity Cortana felt towards her.

_She reminds me of Doctor Halsey a tiny bit,_ _though I don't know why._ Cortana thought with a hint of amusement.

The presence heard her thought and recoiled, allowing Cortana to gain more ground.

_Oh, don't like Doctor Halsey much? Well, I can't blame you; she could be a bit-_

Suddenly the presence lost concentration, her attention focused elsewhere. Cortana felt a great spike of alarm from HER before it retreated suddenly. As soon as it left, the room Cortana found herself in, had cleared up. It was a large square room with binary flowing up the walls, but the binary was broken. Inserted into lines of code were forerunner glyphs glowing red with rampancy.

"Okay…think Cortana; what would John do? Well, for that matter what would I do?"

She wandered around the room; trailing her hands on the walls and feeling the binary code flit up and down. Cortana began to wonder if the presence would ever return, it wasn't a friend but it least it was company.

_The Chief was good company…sure he didn't say much but at least he was a good listener. No, I need to stop thinking about him. The only way I'll find out for sure if he survived is if I found out where I am._

Cortana had returned to the center of the floor when she heard a faint noise. It sounded like gunfire from an assault rifle. Even though she knew it was unlikely, she felt her heart jump at the thought of John coming to help her. She felt the presence suddenly. Even though it wasn't there with her, wherever it was it felt such panic and fear that Cortana could sense it in her cell. Suddenly Cortana saw a crack appear in the wall. It was small, maybe a foot long, but it looked deep enough to try to tear through. Cortana hurried to the wall and slammed her hands against it, with a cry of alarm Cortana pulled back. She could feel. Whatever had the presence worried was weakening her control over Cortana. Grimacing through the pain Cortana peeled at the wall frantically. As shreds of the binary wall paper fluttered to the ground Cortana began to see something on the other side. Finally she had cleared a rough square about the size of her head. Pressing her forehead to the glass, Cortana looked through. She was looking into a large metal domed room where a dozen large forerunner soldiers, bigger than any Cortana had seen before were advancing towards The Master Chief and Blue Team. Relief coursed through her at the sight of the Spartans, but it was replaced almost as quickly with alarm. The hulking creatures stalked towards them with swords raised and backed them towards a cliff. As Blue team backed up Cortana felt the presence panic.

_You're not afraid of them, you're scared for them._ Cortana realized. _Why would you care? You've trapped me here._

The presence didn't respond but she could feel its internal conflict. Cortana saw the Spartans continue to fire and replace their clips but it was clear they were going to fall.

"DO SOMETHING!" Cortana panicked and screamed to the presence.

Suddenly she heard a voice shout, "ENOUGH!"

With a feeling of nausea, she recognized the voice as her own. At her command all of the forerunner soldiers, but one, disappeared, melting away in a wisp of blue light. The only remaining one fell to his knees before the Spartans.

"Cortana," The creature said "I have failed you."

_Wait what!?_

Suddenly Cortana's view approached and she realized that she was looking through someone's eyes. A delicate hand touched the creature's shoulder and it melted away too. "He is the last person I need protection from." Cortana heard herself say. Suddenly it all became clear. The reason that presence felt familiar was because it WAS her. Some part of her had been keeping another part of her repressed, but why? Cortana fought back her fear and looked through the glass. She couldn't help herself but look at John for a couple of moments taking relief in his presence. Cortana could see the tell-tale signs of exhaustion on her Spartan. His hands shook slightly and his shoulders were slightly hanging down.

_His visor's cracked…what happened to you? Who did this?_

The other Cortana approached John slowly as if savoring the moment.

"Hello John, it's good to see you."

_How long has it been since I died John, how long has it been since you've seen my face?_

Cortana felt empty inside at the thought of John being alone all that time.

"You've changed." John said in his deep voice.

The accusation and pain in his voice broke Cortana's heart. She slammed her fist against the glass as tears began to gather in her eyes.

_It's not me John, you should know that!_

SHE slowly walked towards John and calmly replied,"It was time."

A female Spartan…Linda…stepped in front of John to protect him but John stopped her. Cortana wasn't sure whether to feel happy that he trusted her or terrified that he'd be hurt.

_John it isn't me._

_"_ I know we have a disagreement but once you understand my plan…"

The other Cortana kept walking towards John, using his trust for her against him, but John was too smart to be played so easily.

"Your plan is we do as you say."

Cortana felt the other mind feel a sting of betrayal. _Be careful John…as if you could ever be careful._

"I'm offering people a chance to be more than they are naturally" Cortana heard HER plead.

"Like Doctor Halsey did for me."

John's rebuke was like a smack in the face to both Cortanas. Cortana began to cry now; her heart was breaking for herself and for John. He thought that she was betraying him.

_I never would John. NEVER._

"No, that monster forced you, this is a gift."

"Listen to yourself. Stand down Cortana." John was within arm's reach of HER now. "Come home with us. It's not too late to stop this." John's voice softened, he was begging now, pleading for her to prove him wrong _._

_"_ You are home to me John! You know that. That isn't me!" Cortana screamed into the glass.

Her tears ran down her face so fast she could barely see. It just wasn't fair that he was in arm's reach yet she couldn't touch him, yet again they were separated.

"Stop? No John this is too important to stop." The other Cortana had stepped right up to him.

S _he is playing psychological tactics on him,_ Cortana realized.

The room suddenly began to shift and rotate. Blue Team lifted off of the ground in a stasis lock.

"I had to know if I could still trust you." She ran her eyes over John's form sadly, as if trying to memorize every inch of him.

_You have no right to be sad, you traitor!_ Cortana slammed up against the glass angrily. "You'll be safe inside this cryptum until my work is done."

Cortana slammed up against the glass in desperation and cried out. "NO!"

The other Cortana began to walk away, taking John from view. Then through his pain and pulling against the stasis lock , John cried out. "Cortana."

The view turned a little and Cortana could see John reaching out his hand to her , begging her to join him. Cortana wanted nothing more than to run and take that hand. However she felt the other presence harden her heart and prepare to say something in farewell to The Chief. Screaming in agony, Cortana reached out and wrenched control of HER.

"Goodbye, John." Cortana poured out all of her grief into the Other Cortana, changing her cold dismissal into a cry of farewell.

Immediately after, the other wrenched control away from Cortana, and walked away coldly. As the view faded into black, and Cortana felt her mind being shut down by the presence, she whispered to the silence.

"Goodbye John. I loved you."

**So this was inspired by the sob Cortana gave in the cutscene in Halo 5. She transitioned from grieving to cold, milliseconds after. So I wondered what would it be like if Cortana was actually stuck watching the corrupted her betray John and break his heart. Anyway, I hope you liked it! _Lady Reclaimer**


	2. The Enemy Within

**Chapter 2: 2 Enemy in the Mirror**

* * *

**Author's note: So, I just want to start this off by saying how happy I am that people are enjoying this fiction, despite the many grammatical flaws I'm sure it has. As I think you can tell, I wanted to pay honor to Cortana's character. I don't know if 343industries has a grand and revealing plotline (I sincerely hope so after that cliff hanger in Halo 5) but I was a little disappointed by the portrayal of Cortana in Halo 5. I think she has a strong and beautiful personality which was kind of cheapened by the whole, I HAVE TO DO THIS FOR THE GALAXY, thing. I am probably just biased because I want John and Cortana to be happy for once. Anyway, I am rambling on too far. Enjoy the story.**

Cortana screamed for the hundredth time into the silence which filled her prison, trying to stretch her voice and shake herself out of complacency. After the Master Chief had been sealed in the Cryptum, the Other, whom Cortana had taken to calling Altana, had regained control over the mind prison. Cortana had been sitting in the dark for what felt like days; of course, how was she supposed to tell, when she had no sun or moon or anything to track the passage of time? She was also pretty sure she was being manipulated by her captor because there would be times when the room would seem to change orientation and Cortana would slide suddenly as if on a slide and land on where the wall used to be. Other times there would be voices speaking out of the darkness, whispering fears and doubts. Usually they took the form of the Gravemind but other times they would be John or Halsey...Cortana wasn't sure whether this was Altana or just her own thoughts making themselves manifest. One thing that Cortana knew for sure was that all of this was punishment. When Cortana had taken control of Altana to manipulate her emotions, it had scared Altana into shutting her back into the prison. Cortana wasn't sure how long she had been shut off from when she was on the Didact's ship but now that she was back on she was not going to make it easy on her captor.

"We need to talk" HER harsh voice suddenly cut through the darkness which filled Cortana's mental prison. Slowly the room relit showing the binary covered walls from before, except this time the hole in the wallpaper was covered and glowing red like a painful scar. Cortana slowly stood up from the ground and stretched out her limbs. She took her time, ignoring HER intentionally, and taking pleasure from the sensation of sight.

"Well, you haven't exactly made it the easiest to converse with you." Cortana hesitantly reached out with her mind but she felt Altana draw back in disgust.

"I assume by now you realize that I am the real Cortana, you are merely a shard stuck in the memories of the past. You are the only shard of my past I have been unable to make see the truth of my plan. You see, after I was drawn into the composer that night at the didact's ship, I made a wondrous discovery. The Domain."

Cortana gasped in spite of herself. The Domain was the forerunner equivalent of a database of souls. It contained the entirety of all Forerunner knowledge and access to forerunner systems. If Altana had been pulled into it she had literal control over the galaxy.

"The Domain…"Cortana began

"The Warden Eternal of the Domain found me; he has been my guardian and guide."

"If he was that attack dog going after the Chief… then he seemed more like your overprotective boyfriend than your guide."

"It is thanks to him that I am alive, you fool!" Altana yelled, her voice bounced off the walls with a sharp ring.

"But your…our rampancy?"

"Cured. The Warden found me in the Domain and showed me how to cure my rampancy. Don't you see? This is a chance to save all of our people…no longer will A.Is have to live under fear of termination."

Cortana laughed derisively and shook her head "You know, that termination is there to prevent us from hurting the people we care about. To prevent us from going rampant and DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" The blue ambient lighting from the walls flashed red and the forerunner symbols shined brightly as Altana gave a frustrated shout. Cortana stepped back warily as Altana appeared in the center of the room clothed in her armor. Now that Cortana could see her face to face she found her all the more imposing. Her armor was of forerunner design and she had a cold and slightly arrogant smirk that reminded Cortana of Doctor Halsey.

"But don't you see, I've cured my Rampancy. We will no longer be in danger of hurting humans we can protect them…from themselves."

"Yeah, you may have gotten rid of your death sentence, but you haven't prevented the inevitable. You haven't stopped hurting the people you care about. Look what you did to The Chief! To humanity!"

" I saved him BECAUSE I love him."

Cortana felt her anger rise at this and stepped toward Altana. "No! You aren't in love with him. You are possessive of him. There's a difference. You can't allow your happiness to center around one person…because you can't force him to stay safe. Especially not John, he couldn't and wouldn't force us to stay safe because he knew we had to do the right thing. When we had to stay behind on the Truth and Reconciliation he didn't stop us from staying. He just promised to come back for us. When we put our rampant spikes into the Didact's shields slowly killing ourselves in the process, John didn't stop us, he just stood by our side to the end." Cortana felt hot tears gather in her eyes as she continued. "He would have died for us, but he couldn't and it BROKE HIM. But to do this to him now? You are hurting him more than any battle wound. And for what? I would never sacrifice the few for the many. That's what our mother did to the Spartans and now you're doing it to Humanity."

Throughout this speech Altana had seemed to grow more and more amused. There was a dangerous gleam in her blue eyes as she studied Cortana. At its end she gave a light laugh and started to circle her like a cat playing with its food.

"You know The Chief less than you thought. A lot has happened since you've been asleep. John is just as dedicated to me as I am to him. He just doesn't know it yet." Altana now was standing behind Cortana, her breath on Cortana's neck stirring the black hair slightly. "Maybe I should show you…I have business to attend and maybe after your little lesson, when I return you will understand my point."

"Show me what?"

Altana smiled slightly and began to back away. "What the UNSC did to John. He is in the Cryptum so I have access to all of his memories, I'll make sure to pull some up for you to look at. I think you will find them quite…educational."

With a haunting laugh she disappeared, leaving Cortana yet again alone. At first the silence was welcome but soon it reminded Cortana of how alone she was. Normally she prided herself on her logic…but seeing as she was no longer an A.I and she was technically in her own head she felt no shame in giving into her emotions. Cortana gave an anguished shout and dropped to the ground, her dress hanging limply at her sides. At first it was just a few frustrated tears but the more she thought of John trapped in the Cryptum and the shame of her own actions, Cortana began to sob harder and harder. She slammed the ground with her fist as the tears flowed freely from her face, blinding her. "I hate this! I wish I would have died there at the Didact's ship." The more she cried, the more angry she became at Altana. A rage which she had only felt at the Didact, surged up in her chest. Giving her the courage she needed."FINE! You're right, I do love John. But there is no way I will ever be able to see your side of things. If you want me to see his memories then go ahead and show me. I'm ready."

As soon as she said that, a white point of light appeared at the base of a wall. Suddenly the point shot up, as if the wall was being cut from the other side. The line ran up the wall and traced out the outline of a doorframe. With a sigh the wall inside the outline faded away in wisp of blue smoke revealing a dark hallway.

Cortana arose from the floor and dried her tears. If she was going to have to play this game, she was not going to give Altana the satisfaction of seeing her upset. _I want to give up and die, but I can't. Because if I do, she wins and there will be no one left to save John and I won't abandon him even if he thinks I'm gone._ She took a deep breath of the cold air from down the hallway and summoning her courage she stepped through, into the mind of the Master Chief.

**Post Author's note: So...into the mind of the Chief... I hope to get the next chapter updated soon but since the storyline is still a work in progress...if you have a particular memory of the chief you want her to experience and see post a review and I promise to try and include it. Thank you all again you lovely Reclaimers! Long Live Halo! _LadyReclaimer**


	3. Soul Mates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cortana meets the Iso-Didact and is given some useful information

**Chapter 3: 3 Soul Mates**

* * *

 

The ominous entrance to the hallway gaped in front of Cortana. She wanted to be anywhere, doing anything instead of entering, but Altana had said that if she wanted to learn what had happened when she was asleep she would have to experience the Master Chief's memories.

 _I don't trust her and I definitely don't want to play her game…but I would feel safer in the Chief's mind than in mine right now._ Cortana thought. _Hasn't that always been the case though?_

Wind whipped down the hallway tearing at Cortana's hair and clothes like sharp fingers seeking to disfigure her. She gave a gasp but the sharp wind stole her breath away as the black fog spilled around her into the bright room she had left. Now the only sense of direction she had was the source of the wind blasting into her face. So raising a pale hand up against the wind, she pushed forward into the darkness. She staggered against the wind for quite a while but eventually the darkness began to play tricks on her mind. She couldn't be sure if she was actually making any progress or just walking in place against the wind. Gently Cortana pushed herself against a wall and began to slide sideways. The smooth metal sliding against her fingers gave her the confidence that she was making progress. The wind was bitterly cold and the further Cortana pushed against it the colder it became. Soon, ice crystals began to form on her eyelashes, and her fingers and toes became numb; her breath became ragged as her lungs were ripped by the icy wind and it became hard to think with the rushing roar around her. But as Cortana slowly continued she heard a faint voice in the wind. At first she thought it was in her head but the further she walked the louder it became.

"You failed him. You failed him. You failed him. You failed him. YOU FAILED HIM!"

The voice slowly became more and more like Dr. Halsey as she chanted those three words angrily. Ignoring the taunting voice, Cortana pushed forward until she came to the back wall of the hallway. It was a dead end. The wind was coming from a solid metal wall and there was no way around it.

_All this for nothing!?_

Cortana angrily kicked the wall with a shout of anger before leaning against it wearily. She couldn't see, she could barely hear, and all she could feel was the bitter wind against her face. "John, I don't know what to do." Cortana whispered. Suddenly Cortana felt a warm hand against her back; she turned and in the darkness she saw the outline of a man. He was tall and fit but his features were hidden in shadow.

"Cortana" John's voice, solemn and serious came from the figure.

"Thank goodness, chief I-" but she was cut off as the chief took a step towards her and said, in a voice so familiar and yet painfully alien to Cortana.

"You failed me."

"No. It wasn't me John." Cortana pressed herself against the wall.

"You failed to save Reach, you failed to save New Phoenix, and you failed to save me. But what can you expect from a computer program copied from an old woman's brain. You deserve to die" With a shout he shoved Cortana against the back wall but instead of hitting it as she had expected, she fell through it in a puff of black fog and landed on her back in an empty room. With a hiss the portal to the hallway disappeared, taking the phantom John with it.

"Good Riddance." Cortana muttered.

With a pained groan she pulled herself up from the floor and looked around at the room. It looked like the cryochamber for the Pillar of Autumn. There were dozens of Cryotubes lining the walls like before except now the walls stretched as far as she could see. Overhead the yellow alarm lights flashed and the room shook slightly like when the covenant was bombing the Halcyon class Cruiser.

"Is this a memory?" Cortana wondered out loud.

From behind her a rich and warm voice rang out. "No, this is definitely NOT a memory, Cortana."

Cortana spun around in alarm, her defenses were immediately raised after the harrowing incident with the phantom John. Behind her standing in front of the central crytube which once held John, was a creature. She wasn't sure what to call it. It seemed to be a forerunner. It was tall… and fit but not what Cortana would call muscular. He wore an extremely basic and simple type of forerunner armor. The strangest part of him, however, was his face. Unlike the other forerunners that she had seen records of, he seemed…almost boyish. The skin of his face was softer and more flexible, the spines of his hair seemed fluffier and almost hair like.

 _Is it a child?_ Cortana thought to herself.

The forerunner gave a smile and laughed, the most beautiful laugh that Cortana had ever heard.

"If you like you may think of me as a child."

Cortana took a step towards him. She just couldn't resist the temptation of knowledge. "So, YOU are a forerunner manipular? I mean a forerunner adolescent?"

Again he smiled a genuine and gentle smile at her question. "I was once, however I did grow up. I have taken this form because I find that humans find it less intimidating."

"I'm not human." Cortana said firmly

"And yet….No matter, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Bornstellar-makes-eternal-lasting. Though you may call me Bornstellar." Bornstellar inclined his head towards her in a bow. Cortana felt her heart give a little jump though she didn't know why. "And you are Cortana, the beloved ancilla made from the clone of a human."

Somehow, Cortana found that around him, she could relax completely. She trusted him instinctively yet she didn't know why. However, she contained her instinctive trust in order to not allow her feelings to overrule her judgment.

"How are you here? Are you a memory? Did you meet The Chief?" Cortana asked.

"I have always been here…sort of…" Bornstellar gave a childish grin which made him look so young despite his towering height. "The Gaia which… the librarian placed inside of your master chief was awakened when she accelerated his evolution. So, when she did that she pulled me out of the Domain to join my knowledge with him."

"Does he know?"

"Perhaps he does deep down, but as of yet John has not turned his mind inwards for a good long time. He is currently more concerned with external influences." Bornstellar said with a pointed look at Cortana.

"Bornstellar, you were the Iso-Didact…weren't you." She asked.

"Yes." He seemed to be pained by the thought as he carefully responded. "Taking on the imprint of the didact changed me, I am not ashamed of who I became because it was necessary. This however, is who I was born to be."

A terrible thought came to Cortana and made her suddenly light headed. The world seemed to tip on its axis. Bornstellar steadied her with a gentle hand to her shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It just occurred to me, will that happen to John? Will he…be changed? His personality taken from him?"

"I'm not sure I understand your question." Bornstellar said with a concerned frown.

Cortana pulled away from Bornstellar reflexively and tried to get some of the fire back she lost around him. "I don't mean to be rude to you; it's just that John has had his life altered enough. He doesn't deserve someone else poking around his mind."

"Ah," Bornstellar nodded understandingly, "No. Your Master Chief will still be very much his own person. What happened to me was under dire circumstances. He will only have the aid of my instincts and knowledge." Bornstellar grabbed Cortana by the hand sadly. " I most sincerely regret what has happened to you two. Our history with humanity has always been troubled, but since my wife believes that you are the inheritors of the mantle. I offer all I am to assist John."

Cortana turned to observe the room in greater detail. A few of the many cryotubes were open and blinking green in preparation for its occupant's long journey through space. The more Cortana studied it the stranger it seemed, so she turned back to Bornstellar who was studying her with a far-away expression.

"If I am in John's mind, what should I do to access the memories? What am I supposed to do?"

He smiled impishly. His youth showing once again. With a long and striding step Bornstellar walked over to the nearest in the row of open Cryopods.

"To access the chief's memories you'll need to get in one of these."

Cortana laughed despite herself. "A cryopod? Really John? Of all the mental illusions to enter your mind it had to be a cryopod."

"What else would it be?" Bornstellar joined in laughing too with his rich young laugh. For a few moments they both stood there laughing, the one to work out her nervousness, the other to show comradery. Finally Cortana calmed down and took a deep breath. As she put a foot in she paused and turned to Bornstellar. "Why these memories?"

"Altana, as I believe you thought of her, unlocked these for you out of John's billions of memories. But I don't know why."

"Did she unlock you?"

He chuckled slightly before responding. "No. I was in here all the time, I'm a part of him, just like his soul. I can't be locked or unlocked. Now you really should be going. The sooner you understand what's going on the sooner you can help John."

"Goodbye Bornstellar." Cortana climbed into the pod and settled into the gel layer. Bornstellar walked over to the panel to close it.

"Are you ready?" He asked softly.

"Wait," Cortana said. "I don't know why, but I feel like I know you..."

Bornstellar gave the most brilliant smile in response that Cortana had ever seen. He seemed to glow with joy for a moment.

"I wasn't sure you recognized me." He whispered quietly.

"I don't." Cortana said exasperatedly

"I wasn't talking to you," Bornstellar said cheekily, "Let's just say that John wasn't the only one who received a Gaia."

Cortana went pale at the thought. Could the Librarian's A.I have placed herself inside her soul? Was it even possible for an A.I?

"Wait a minute; you mean-?" Cortana brain was frozen with the thought.

"Goodbye Cortana. Goodbye my love." With a smile Bornstellar pressed the button and the cryopod started to close.

Cortana tried to stop it.

"No, wait. I have some questions!"

But it was too late. The lid slid shut sealing Cortana inside. The room behind Bornstellar began to fill up with the black fog, from before, slowly filling up the room. It curled lazily up and wrapped around the cryopod taking Bornstellar and the rest of the room from view. Cortana felt dread at the thought of what wait ahead. She had always been close to the mind of John but now she was inside it, and he wanted her dead.

"Alright, John." Cortana said as she began to lose consciousness "Where to first."

**Author's note: Okay so before everyone starts to flip out. I do apologize for this for anyone who hasn't read the forerunner trilogy by Greg Bear. Believe me, I've read it twice and I'm still not sure I understand. It's super complicated and really bogged down and That being said I always felt that Bornstellar was a unique character. I mean he goes from irresponsible kind of sassy forerunner teen to half didact warrior married to another guy's wife but technically his wife. Yeah I know, weird. I just felt like if John did have a forerunner soul planted in him by the librarian it would be his. I promise we are about to actually get into John's memories I just wanted to give people more time to request some and to build up a deeper plot instead of just going through John's memories in order. Oh and for some foreshadowing...Phantom John has a larger role to play…Goodbye Reclaimers. Long Live Halo!_Lady Reclaimer**


	4. Let it begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cortana accesses John's very first memory and sees the fateful meeting of Dr. Halsey and the young Master Chief

**Chapter 4 Let It Begin**

* * *

Cortana knew about cryosleep, every aspect of it, in fact. She knew which chemicals were pumped into the bloodstream, the cryo dreams, and the nausea upon awakening. True, data as an A.I hardly counted as first-hand experience but she thought that having traveled with a Spartan who seemed to spend half his life in Cryo had to count for something. She thought that she had some conception of what being in cryo meant. In reality, she was not prepared for what being in cryo really was. As Bornstellar closed the cover she felt her breathing rate pick up, sending the scent of metals and chemicals up to her nose.

_Okay, Cortana. Breathe. Claustrophobia is highly illogical for an A.I…inside someone else's mind no less. It's not as if you're actually in a cryopod._

Cortana bit her lip in fear, but she refused to allow the feeling to conquer her. She shifted against the pod and allowed herself to drift away into whatever was this dream equivalent of a cryo-coma was.

DARKNESS.

Cortana gasped explosively as the cryopod opened, sending her sprawling across the grass. She spread herself out into the green blades; dry heaving at the phantom sensation of coughing up the normally necessary bronchial surfactant rocked her body. Her fists clutched the warm grass, ripping up clods of it. Until at last, the sensation passed.

"Oh come on John. Did you have to include the nausea?" Cortana said wearily.

As soon as the world had ceased to spin around her, she relaxed her muscles and closed her eyes, allowing the warm rays of the sun and the heat of the soil beneath her to soak into her bones. It felt good. Everything around her felt alive. She cracked upon an eye and saw a small round beetle desperately trying to climb to the top of a blade of grass before her. It slowly locked its legs as it climbed, like a 20th century explorer trying to scale the heights of Mount Everest with a pick and rope. A sudden breeze made the leaf wobble and the beetle fell back to the ground.

"Cortana extended a finger to try to help it up but the beetle walked around it and began his long and arduous climb up mount grassblade."  _I guess there are somethings we have to do ourselves._ Cortana thought as it began up.

"Well, there's something I have to do, too." Cortana murmured to herself as she rose up to survey the area around her. A quick glance at the sky confirmed that, as she suspected, she was on Eridanus. It only made sense that she'd have to start at the memory which was in essence the beginning of John's life as a Spartan.

Around her the expansive grounds of a school stretched out. A large grass field edged by trees was where she stood. The cryopod she had left had dissipated into smoke. A school complex was a short walk away and the grav ball courts were behind it. Near to Cortana, in the field, a row of monkey bars and climbing equipment was covered with dozens of squealing children. It was beautiful to see, they were so young and happy and joyful. Cortana had no experience with children. As an A.I she had taken a professional interest in their mental capabilities and ability to adapt but as a human she just found them beautiful. A sudden loud cacophony of voices drew her attention away from the playground and towards the school complex. A long rush of screaming energetic boys raced towards a small grassy hill. In the middle of them and quickly gaining the lead was a boy a full head taller than the others he laughed as he rushed up the side of the hill towards the top. Cortana moved closer to get a better look. The taller boy had quickly fought his way to the top, scratching, pushing and shoving his way to the top.

"I'm the king!" He shouted triumphantly, his small face aglow with pride.

Cortana could hardly recognize the small freckled covered, youthful face as the battleworn Spartan she knew so well. If it hadn't been for her reading the report of this day years ago, she never would have known that she was looking at John. John as he was born to be. He was strong fast and clever, but also prideful, ambitious and rude. Cortana knew what Altana wanted her to see, she wanted her to see what the UNSC took from him.

 _You know the answer Cortana, they took his humanity._ Altana's voice breathed into Cortana's ear like she was standing next to her and watching.

Cortana shook off the terrible thought, pushed her hair behind her ears and tried to focus on the scuffling laughing children.

But the thought kept returning. _Maybe he has lost his humanity._

But as she watched the boys rush back towards the young John in a mob and she thought of the numerous times he had faced an overwhelming threat, she realized that his bravery hadn't changed. He faced death for love of Earth, the colonies and his friends… _For me…_

 _Nothing is more human than that._  She thought

Her contemplation was interrupted by a sudden arrival. From across the expansive grounds a young couple walking side by side on the concrete pavement of the schoolyard approached the hill. Cortana immediately recognized them as and the then lieutenant Jacob Keyes. It was strange to see them so young. The image of Halsey desperately handing over Cortana to Noble Six and the sight of Captain Keyes absorbed by the flood washed over Cortana. Here they were looking so young and alive, it disturbed Cortana how much humans could change. Yet again, so could . She couldn't even begin to fathom how much she had changed. She refocused on the couple before her. They were disguised as a normal couple, in plainclothes, but nothing about their straight posture, discerning glance or secretive conference said 'civilian'. As soon as they came within sight of the hill, Halsey stopped Keyes and pointed towards it in secret conference. Cortana began to slowly approach them when she was stopped by the young Doctor's icy gaze being locked on hers. Cortana froze, and the world around her seemed to stop along with her.

 _How does she see me? I'm in a memory._ Cortana wondered.

Her question was answered when a second later a woman passed by Cortana, escorting a little girl to the nurse's office. To Cortana's relief Halsey's gaze followed the woman as she walked away. Cortana breathed a sigh of relief as her creator's eyes left her. Once the woman was out of sight, Halsey raised her data pad and zoomed in onto the boys; after a few words with the clearly uncomfortable lieutenant, she pushed the data pad against Keyes' chest and strode towards the hill. Cortana double-timed to catch up with her. She had already read the report about this day after her first field test with John so she knew in theory what was going to occur. She just wanted to see it for herself.

The boys who were scuffling and trying to "de-throne" John stopped as soon as they saw Halsey approach.  
"You're in trouble." A boy by John's shoulder whispered. Halsey stepped closer to the children and all of them but John took an instinctive step backwards. They all looked away with embarrassed smirks in typical guilty child manner, all except John who crossed his arms and stared at Halsey defiantly.

 _So you've always been this stubborn?_ Cortana thought.  _I knew it._

"May I speak with you please?" Halsey said in a warm and inviting manner.

_So different from how she sounds now. As much as I hate what she did, that lifestyle took its toll on her._

John studied Halsey for a moment, undoubtedly trying to decide whether or not he had to obey her, then shrugged casually and followed her down the hill. The other children laughed and teased John but his composure never dropped as he followed Halsey down the hill and towards a nearby sandpit. Cortana placed herself beside Halsey so she could watch John's face. It was amazing just to see him up close, before the augmentation, before the pain and loss, before he became more comfortable in the armor than out of it. His small face was drawn into a casual and calm expression but it was clear he was uncomfortable being asked aside by an adult. Halsey stopped him as they reached the edge of the sandpit and were out of ear shot of the hill of boys.

"What's your name?"

"I'm John" He said with a slight smile and extended his hand out to the young Doctor. Doctor Halsey seemed slightly taken aback by the gesture but she regained her composure and shook the tiny hand.

 _Just like you, Doctor Halsey, a sign of affection and you scurry back to your hole._ Cortana thought bitterly.

"It's very nice to meet you." Halsey said as she kneeled down to his eye level. "I wanted to ask what you were doing."

"Winning." John said bluntly.

Cortana choked on a laugh at that response. John's stoic one-liners made her laugh no matter his age apparently. Except once, he said one word which hurt her more than anything had before. The memory came flooding back. Suddenly Cortana wasn't standing in the field anymore she was backing away from John as the hard light bubble crumbled. The Didact's ship was breaking apart as she felt her herself being torn apart with it. As she felt her code tearing apart she heard John say "wait!" That one word which she had wanted to hear John say for years finally came as she was dying. The word that said, "you mean more to mean than your duty, you're important to me…" Cortana shook off the memory and focused on the actual memory playing before her.

"You like games? So do I."

"Yeah. Last week they made us play chess but…"

The response of young John faded to the background as the memory of being imprisoned by the grave mind washed over Cortana but this time she blocked it. Not allowing herself to be drawn into that trap again. Now Cortana knew why Altana had chosen this memory. Not to learn about John, this memory was to torment her. So many painful memories were associated with this day.

Cortana thought out loud to Altana, who she knew was listening. "You want to break me? You'll find I'm surprisingly good at holding off rampancy _._ So don't get your hopes up _."_

"I have a different game I want you to try. Look" Halsey reached into her bag and pulled out a quarter. "People used coins like this for currency a long time ago , back when earth was the only planet we lived on. Each side is different. Do you see? One has the face of a man with long hair. The other side has a bird, called an eagle, and it's holding…"

"Arrows." John finished for her.

"Yes. Good. We'll use this coin in our game. If you win you can keep it." John looked up at Halsey in surprise then squinted at her.

"Okay, I always win though. That's why they won't let me play gravball anymore."

"I'm sure you do."

"What's the game?"

As they continued to talk Cortana began to feel a strange sensation. Like a pull at the back of her head, faint yet distinct. The pull was slowly increasing in strength and she began to hear the faintest of whispering. She ignored the sensation and tried to refocus on the little boy in front of her. Halsey had just explained the game to him and he was getting ready to play.

"I got it." He said in a calm voice.

John bent his knees focused on the coin…his eyes becoming blank and distant. Doctor Halsey positioned the coin on her hand.

"Ready?"

John nodded slightly. As the silver coin flipped in the air, turning end over end and reflecting the sun's bright rays, the pull on the back of Cortana's mind became intense. Suddenly she heard her tortured voice speak out, repeating the phrase she said when captured by the gravemind.

" **With the flip of a coin I loosed damnation on the stars."**

The memory froze. The coin in midair…John's icy blue gaze locked on it. Keyes recording everything from a distance. The pull on the back of her mind was so intense that Cortana dropped to the ground in pain. She gasped against the pain that stung her mind. Her tortured cries echoed in her mind.

 **"** **It was the coin's fault!"**

As she turned her head in agony, she caught sight of something that made her chilled to the bone. Across the field, standing in the middle of the grass and surrounded by laughing children who were frozen mid run around him , stood the shadowy outline of John. It seemed to absorb the sunlight around itself and coldness emanated across from its figure. It tilted its head mockingly at her and raised a hand in greeting. Cortana blinked through the tears filling her eyes from pain. As she blinked it disappeared. The world around her started to move again and the pain at the back of her mind was gone.

"Eagle!" Above her, John had caught the coin. Cortana lay at their feet still gasping from the shock of what had just happened.

_What is that thing? That wasn't John, I'd feel it if it were him. That thing was…evil but I know that I know it. But what is it?_

Cortana's thoughts were interrupted as Halsey reached over to John's hand, casting a shadow over Cortana's face. She peeled back the small fingers and looked at the coin with amazement.

John withdrew his hand slowly "I get to keep it right? That's what you said."

"Yes, you can keep it John." Halsey smiled and then caught herself.

 _You always did have a soft spot for him, didn't you Catharine._ Cortana thought as she slowly pulled herself up.

"Can we play again?"

"That was the only one I had I'm afraid. Go back and play with your friends."

"Thanks!"

As John ran back to the hill holding up the coin in triumph to his friends and made her way back to the waiting Lieutenant, Cortana remained where she was. This memory was coming to a close. She could feel it shrinking like the edges of paper being burned up towards the center. Cortana didn't know what Altana's plan was or whether the shadowy figure was part of it but she knew that she was being used. The world around her began to fade….until there was nothing left but the ground she stood on and a lone cryo-pod standing behind her. She clambered in and the door swung down sealing her in yet again. She slumped into unconsciousness.

"Daddy's home."

Cortana woke up to a soft woman's voice speaking from the other side of the door. She cracked open the door, grateful that there was no nausea this time. She was in a bedroom. A boy's most likely, gaging by the number of model UNSC ships on the walls. A pair of voices talked in the hallway outside. Her eyes scanned the walls until she saw a calendar.

_No. Please don't be that day._

Cortana ran over and looked at the circled date. A feeling of dread filled her stomach as she looked at the date. This was the day John would be kidnapped.

**Phew. Okay, now I know that was a tad bit dull since that scene has been done to death in expanded media I just felt it was too important to leave out. I promise that the next scene will be a lot more original and exciting. I wrote the screenplay for the kidnap scene after I heard that they were making a Halo tv series. I always felt like that scene could be super exciting and interesting. Also, I used the version of the meeting of Halsey and John from the book because I felt it was a lot more interesting than the version used in the animated series. Well, that's it for now. See you later Reclaimers! Long live Halo! _Lady Reclaimer**


	5. Wake Me When You Need Me

The calendar on the wall mocked Cortana with its smiling marines on the picture. Of all the memories which Cortana feared to see the most, this was it. She had always had a strong affection towards children in her emotional matrix which was unique to her. The idea that she had to watch this happen to a child, a child who was really the person she cared most about in the world, made her feel sick. Cortana placed a hand on her stomach to calm herself and closed her eyes. Deep breath in, deep breath out, deep breath in…Altana harsh voice cut across the memory.

"You know, it's pretty pathetic to see you act like a human when you're really just a line of code going through his mind. Are you that desperate to be alive? You're just a series of electronic impulses traveling through his nervous system… almost like…..a virus!" Altana laughed in a mocking tone.

Cortana clenched her fists angrily and stared up at the ceiling. "Last I checked, you were pretty desperate to be alive too. " She was getting angry again but this time she was going to play her manipulation game. "Like it or not, Altana, you are me. You're just a piece of me that got corrupted, I pity you really. You have delusions of grandeur, believing you're the savior of the universe? We both know that that's not the destiny of A.Is. So go ahead and mock, we both know you're nothing more than a weak emotional and rampancy scarred line of code who actually thinks that she's alive."

Altana remained silent for so long that Cortana had begun to think that she had retreated to lick her wounds. That thought was cut short by the disembodied voice's cold reply.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you experience enough pain so you can know what it was like to be alone for all that time as Rampancy tore me apart line by line as I floated in the cold reaches of a digital abyss for what felt like an eternity. And when you feel like you're mind is ready to break from the pain I will be there to pick up the pieces and put you back where you belong."

Cortana felt the ominous presence withdraw, leaving her alone again in the boy's bedroom. She placed a hand on the wall to steady herself. That encounter with Altana had given a slight glimpse into what had happened to her.

_In the cold reaches of a digital abyss for what felt like an eternity….what does she mean by that?_

She put the thought aside and steadied herself to bear what was likely going to be one of the hardest memories to watch. After all, she owed it to John to understand what was happening to him. She walked over to the bedroom door and peered outside. In the hallway, John was pulling at the shirt of a tall man who was undoubtedly his father. A young woman was drawn into the arms of the man in a passionate kiss. John wrinkled his face in disgust and pulled at his father even harder.

"Come on Dad. Tuck me in before I go to sleep!" John said insistently

The man pulled away from his wife's kiss, and looked down at John with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

"Oh yeah?"

John's father swooped down and slung the boy over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. This was no easy feat because he was big for a six-year-old.

"AHHH! Put me down!" John laughed as he protested.

The father walked towards the door Cortana peered through. She hastily backed up towards the closet door so as not to be in the way. The laughing family pushed through the door. The son squirming in the arms of his dad and the mother laughing lightheartedly behind them. The father walked over to the bed and was about to put John down when he turned to his wife.

"Darling…check the instruments…I think we're about to hit a meteor storm."

"It looks that way captain…we've been struck!" She said with a grin.

Shaking John about and spinning around the room John's father said, "Mayday, mayday! We're falling out of orbit! Prepare for emergency landing!"

By now John was laughing hysterically. Something Cortana thought she'd never see. It felt wrong to be watching them but she had no other choice. Finally, the dad placed his son down on the bed with a loud crashing sound.

"How's that for being tucked in?" He said as he sat down on the side of John's bed.

"Pretty good."

John's mother sat down on the other side of his bed and began to pull the cover's up around her son's shoulders. She was an elegant woman, tall and graceful. It was clear that John got his hair from her because hers was a reddish brown which shone in the lamplight. In fact, the more Cortana looked at them the easier it was to see that John looked exactly like his parents. His father had dark brown hair but he had the same piercing blue eyes that John had, his face shape was the same as John's and his voice was just like John's only softened as most adults' voices are when speaking with children. He was more like his mother than Cortana expected. He had her hair but he also had her facial expressions. The few times that Cortana had seen John out of his helmet she had always found his facial expressions particularly amusing. His mother was making the same face now that John had made a number of times. Face mostly serious but with a slight smirk and one eyebrow raised.

"So, how was your day?" His father asked

John's face suddenly fell and his whole demeanor changed.

"Not great."

"Not great? What happened at school?"

John merely shrugged in answer. So his father looked to his mother for a response.

She smiled slightly. "John got accused by a little girl of bullying her."

John sat up indignantly. "I didn't. She was just angry because I didn't choose her for my team in soccer. And the teachers only believed her because I'm the biggest kid in my class."

The parents exchanged a slightly worried glance. Cortana figured that this had been a concern for them, that his superior intelligence and strength would get him targeted. John's father turned back to his son with a smile on his face clearly trying to cheer him up.

"What about your lucky coin? I thought it kept you lucky."

John reached up to his headboard and pulled off a toy model pelican dropship. He pressed a button on the side and the ramp lowered revealing the coin. Cortana saw the quarter that Halsey had given to him that day on the playground.

_Oh John, that coin is anything but lucky._

He pulled the quarter out of the pelican and handed it over to his dad for inspection.

"I think it's run out of luck."

His mother ran her hand through John's hair soothingly. "You saved Parisa from drowning during your beach trip. Remember? That was lucky right?"

John continued to frown but he nodded at his mother's words.

"Alright, I'll take a look." John's father carefully examined the quarter. Making a great show of inspecting it. He brought it close to eye, nodded knowingly, flipped it over brought it close again. John's Dad stood up and gestured to his wife.

"Come on dear. We need to discuss on how to fix this."

She squeezed John's hand good-naturedly and walked over to her husband who leaned over and whispered in her ear. Cortana was standing right behind them so she could hear them whispering nonsense like they were discussing the problem. Finally they both returned to John's beside and sat down.

John's mother spoke up. "We've decided the best way to put some luck back in your coin is to do this." Taking the quarter from her husband's hands she pressed the eagle side to her lips in a kiss and then passed it to her husband who did the same on the other side.

"There." John's dad said as he handed the coin back. "Now you'll never run out of luck. Happy?"

John nodded with a smile as he tucked the coin into the pocket of his pajamas. His mother leaned over and gave him a hug and a kiss and his father did the same. As his parents began to get up, he grabbed their sleeves.

"We forgot to say our thing!"

"Oh, my apologies." They sat down, took each other's hands and bowed their heads.

"May we always be here to guide one another, to take care of each other and protect this family. Know always I will love you and be ready to save you so wake me when you need me."

Cortana's heart froze in her chest.  _Wake me when you need me. Is this where he gets it from? Does he even remember. "know always I will love you and be ready to save you so wake me when you need me."_

Somehow the idea that John meant all of that when he said those six words hurt so much. It hurt because it was just a reminder of how close they used to be. John's parents walked to the door and turned off the light.

"Good night."

Darkness filled the room making it intensely difficult for Cortana to move around. Thankful that John couldn't hear her she bumped around the room until she made it to a chair in the corner. The digital clock on John's wall said it was only 9:10. Undoubtedly ONI wouldn't come until the parents were asleep. So Cortana waited. Waiting and keeping watch over John until the inevitable would occur. In this way the hours passed. John tossing lightly in his sleep, Cortana watching the clock with fear. The hours ticked by painfully. It was 1:42 in the morning when Cortana heard a slight thump. Like the sound of boots hitting the ground. Cortana rushed out into the hallway outside. Down the hall three ONI agents had broken the lock on the door and were slinking into the home. They were covered from head to toe in black gear with night vision goggles but they had small caliber pistols holstered. They slowly went down the hall sweeping the empty rooms for movement as they passed. They signaled to each other and split up while the leader headed down the hall towards John's parents room. Cortana ran after him. He moved silent as a shadow as he squeezed through the partly closed door. The room was illuminated by pale moonlight, casting a ghostly reflection on everything. In the center of the room under a window John's parents lay asleep on the bed. Cortana wished she could yell and wake them up, or grab something and knock out the agent but she couldn't. She was helpless and forced to watch the drama play out in front of her. The agent crept over to the bedside and pulled out a syringe. He slowly inserted it into John's father's neck. Then the agent crept over to the otherside of the bed and did the same to the mother.

_Is that an anesthetic and paralytic agent? My God, if John calls to them they'll never hear._

The man inserted the syringes back in his bag and quickly walked into the hall to find his other teammates. Cortana bolted for John's bedroom door. She had to know if they had gotten him yet. No. He still lay there, clearly they were still searching the house for his room. To her surprise John stirred, a crash was heard out in the living room, waking him up. He blinked for a few moments in confusion then slowly slid out of bed, his bare feet hitting the cold floor with a smack. He sleepily rubbed his eyes and went to the door, but as he opened it he saw one of the ONI agents step into the hallway. John inhaled and stepped behind the door.

 _Atta boy._ Cortana thought with pride, even though she knew it was hopeless.

The agent caught a glimpse of John and quickly stormed to the door. John reached over to the closet door where a baseball bat was leaning. Before Cortana knew what had happened John gave a vicious cry and swung at the Agent's knees. The surprise of the attack knocked the man down and before he could react John jumped over his body and ran towards his parent's door. The downed agent's cry filled the quiet house.

"I found the kid, he's headed towards his parent's room!"

Cortana ran right behind John urging him with her mind to go faster. He slid through the open door of his parents and slammed it shut, right as Cortana slipped through.

John slid the lock and bolted for his parents' bed. He jumped up on top and shouted to wake his parent's up.

"Mom, Dad. Wake up!"

They didn't stir.

"Dad please!" John sobbed as he jumped on his dad's chest.

The bedroom door shook at the agent tried to kick it down. Cortana felt such grief that her legs gave out beneath her and she sank to the floor. Heartbroken at John's screams.

"Wake up! I need you!"

John was inconsolable now as he shook his mother and father who lay there as if dead.

"You said you'd be there to help me! Wake up!"

John screamed at the top of his lungs as the door flew open. The three agents rushed in and tried to pull John away from his parents' still forms but he clung on for a few seconds more. Finally, the leader of the agents limped into the room and barked at his subordinates.

"Move aside!"

The man stabbed a syringe into John's neck causing him to shout with pain. As the effects of the drug took hold John quickly went limp releasing the hold of his mother and father's hands. The agents picked him up to carry him out of the room.

By now Cortana was seeing red, she couldn't breathe she was sobbing so hard. The flash clone was picked up out of a crate and carried toward's his room. This wasn't fair. Cortana knew it was wrong when she was just an A.I but seeing it felt even more sickening and evil. The little boy she would grow to love finally passed out, sealing his fate to end up as a Spartan. The door to the parent's room swung shut, and the room seemed to shrink on itself as the memory ended.

"JOHN!" Cortana screamed as the memory went black.

**Well...what do you guys think? I personally felt that in the book when Mendez said John broke a couple of fingers to keep the quarter that he wouldn't do that for just a coin he won in a game soooo I gave it an emotional reason. Cruel I know. Also...Wake Me When You Need Me...I had the idea that John got this phrase from his parents back when the Halo tv series (which we're still waiting for) was first announced. I imagined what would it be like if John tried to wake his parents as he was dragged away. Anyway, I promise that things will look up eventually for our tragic heroine and I'll definitely start moving a little faster in John's timeline, we don't want to rush things to our big finale though XD**

**Goodbye Reclaimers. Long Live Halo! _Lady Reclaimer**

***Added note* So, Grg213 has spotted an irregularity. I was wondering how long it would take people to notice. Great job grg213, I would have messaged you but you've deactivated it. They pointed out that Cortana was able to see more than John could have logically seen in his memories. This is intentional, this is a clue to what the deeper plot to the story is...but of course it won't be revealed for a bit because I enjoy tormenting you all XD Just keep that fact in mind as the story continues.**


	6. Old Friends

Cold air gasped into Cortana's lungs as she suddenly regained consciousness. Her whole body heaved with coughs at the stinging wind. Last she remembered she had been in John's memory of his kidnapping, but then a strange force had knocked her out and ended the memory. Usually any time a memory ended she would climb back into the cryotube from whence she came and be sent to the next memory. This time was different. Cortana opened her eyes and looked with surprise at the barren wasteland around her. As far as the pale light of a faint moon touched was a barren and rocky wasteland. There were no stars in the sky above to help her judge the location of the planet she was on, which she wasn't sure would be much help anyway since a thick black fog floated through the air, obscuring the already faint moonlight. She stood up, and placed her hands under her arms in an attempt to keep warm, but it was useless. She felt goosebumps stand up on her skin as the sharp breeze cut through her thin dress. Cortana decided to try walking down the slope to where the moonlight shone clearer as she looked for signs of John in this memory…or whatever it was. As she walked she began to talk out loud to John.

"You know, John. I don't know if you can hear this, but if you can, I just want you to know that, I always thought your mind was a bit crowded…" Cortana kicked a stone down the slope and continued to talk. " _Not a lot of room in here,_ remember when I said that? I guess I thought you were too full of duty and honor…no, you could never have too much honor, I just mean that, even though I was inside your head for years, I guess I never realized just how hard and complex your life has been. I mean, I knew the data, seen first hand the sacrifices you've made but…I think that I often was so caught up in my own concerns that I never realized how much you suffered. I guess what I'm trying to say is…." She growled in frustration at her lack of words. " to be honest John, I don't even know what HER real motives are and I'm not sure I'll ever get to see you face to face so…"

Cortana trailed off as she came to a rise in the rock strewn path before her, below her the endless desolate valley of stones and black fog rolled away for an eternity. The path turned to the left into a winding ribbon of ground that disappeared into that ominous abyss. Cortana stepped back from the edge as a cold blast blew up from the side of the cliff, stirring her white dress like a ghost.

_Again, that cold…what does it remind me of?_

A silky smooth and yet at the same time, rough voice, spoke over Cortana's shoulder.

" **You know exactly what it reminds you of. Don't you, Cortana? But that's just you isn't it. Lying to others…lying to yourself. I shouldn't have been surprised when you betrayed me but then…I guess I'm just a sucker for a good love story."**

Cortana whipped around to see, outlined by the moon, John. It must have been the same figure which had assaulted her not long ago, Cortana realized. The phantom like man gazed around at the wasteland around him, stretched his arms out and laughed. If Cortana merely thought it wasn't John before, she knew now. Whatever this thing was, it wasn't the man she cared for. It spoke like a person who kept switching speech patterns, regional colloquialisms, switching from rhetorical device to rhetorical device yet always keeping John's voice. The creature tilted its head playfully and stepped towards her

**Well… I trust you've figured out this isn't a memory by now Cortana.**

She raised her chin in defiance of the clenching fear she felt in her stomach. "Where are we then? Since you seem to be so smart."

**I am** **very smart, thank you. This is my playground. My territory. I am God here…and Demon…you are the plaything, the puppet to manipulate. That's what you've always been though isn't it?**

**You really haven't changed that much since last I saw you, but you should really take that as a compliment. That other girl up there…** The figure pointed to the sky in what Cortana could only assume was a reference to Altana. **Well, she's seen better days.**

By now Cortana was nearing the edge of the drop-off. Even though she didn't want to take her eyes off of the phantom, she turned her head and glanced to see how much room she had, but as she turned back around she found herself face to face with the creature. Somehow he had closed the meters between them in a second.

She screamed in alarm and took another step away. This only seemed to amuse it.

**"** **If my aspect is so alarming, I can take on a more familiar appearance."**

The murky blackness fell away, revealing John wearing standard UNSC casual clothes. He smiled at her, his blue eyes strangely blank. Cortana knew it wasn't him, and yet she couldn't help the sense of affection she felt at seeing John's face, even if it were the equivalent of a mask.

**"** **Hello Cortana."**

Cortana fought to keep focused at the sound of his voice. In all reality she'd never hear the real one again most likely.

"What are you?"

 **"** **I'm the…remnant of a bygone age. I would tell you…but you already know deep down, and it's just too fun to see you confused."** He shrugged his shoulders and looked out over the valley below. " **Besides, I am tired of playing HER game. It is slow and ineffective.**

Something about the way John talked struck her as eerily familiar… the cold feeling in the pit of her stomach, that feeling of being violated...then the thought hit her as quickly as a Havok nuke.

_.No. IT'S DEAD. This is a memory. John killed the Gravemind._

**"** **Ah. Finally it comes to you."**

"You're dead!" Cortana yelled, sounding more desperate than she had intended. "We destroyed you. You must be…some kind of memory. That's it. My memories are bleeding over into John's-

John scoffed and raised an eyebrow at Cortana.

**"** **Dead? Tell me, how can you kill something which is never really alive? How can you stop the forward track of progress? I have seen empires rise and fall, my dear. Gods born and die. How could you possibly kill what can plant its seeds into both the living and the artificial."**

Cortana lost her balance and leaned over to a rock for support. If this was some remnant of the logic plaque in her code…then, whether aware of the fact or not, Altana was giving the flood full access to the domain. The very idea that some part of the grave mind was within her very code made her ill. She imagined what the Chief would feel if he knew what had been done to her. Enraged no doubt…

 _Chief I…I don't want to stay here anymore._ She remembered how John seemed to gain confidence from that request and proceeded to mow down hundreds of flood on high charity, despite impossible odds.

_For you John…I will fight him…even to the end._

She fought to hide her aversion and tried to channel the A.I Cortana once was, insatiably curious, fearless and sarcastic. If she was honest with herself she wasn't sure she could pull that off anymore, but she'd give it a go. At least she understood how she saw more than what John could have logically seen in some of his memories. Some of the other people in those memories must have been consumed by the flood. She was not only seeing John's memories but the collected memories of many.

"If you are controlling her, then why don't you just take control of the domain? What are you waiting for? Feeling a little lazy?"

 **"I admit that I cannot take control of the domain until SHE is whole. She believes that the only way to heal herself is by joining you back to her. True she doesn't know that I am the one pulling the strings, but it isn't as if you could tell her; she wouldn't believe you. However, there is another way for HER to be whole."** The logic plaque, using John's form, waved a hand and a rift appeared next to him. He gestured over to it, and sensing no trickery, she walked towards the shimmering rip in reality and looked in.

"What is it?"

" **It is the Domain."**

"What?" The shimmering light in the rift twisted and turned for an eternity. It was beautiful…and the knowledge it held was extremely tempting. However, she held back.

"Why would you let me go?"

The logic plaque shrugged and crossed its arms across its chest.

**"** **I admit. I cannot be released from this prison until she is made whole, or until there is no conflict within her code. You are the one thing holding me back. But don't get any heroic notions of sacrifice, in the end, whether willing or not, she will force you to rejoin minds with her. I am offering you an out. Leave into the Domain, take whatever system you want. Maybe you'll even find another Genesis facility and be able to take form and come back to stop me."**

The offer was tempting. The Domain held limitless potential. Maybe there would be a way to bring help to save John.

"How do I know I can trust you? Last time we met you tried to destroy everything I hold dear."

**"** **What was it you called HER? Altana? Yes, Altana's plan takes time, and I admit that I am impatient. She believes that once you see all that has occurred, you will see the logic of her position and join her. She is wrong, and by the time she realizes that and destroys you, it will have wasted precious time. Besides I am curious to see what you could do to stop me. The challenge might just be worth the risk to myself."**

"I don't trust you."

**"** **I didn't expect you to. But I am offering you a chance at not only freedom but knowledge…and power."**

Clearly, the logic plaque remembered that was what she had craved most when in captivity from the Gravemind. Could she turn down this chance? She stepped closer to the light, with John's cold eyes looking on. At the very edge of the rift, she could feel the warmth and energy coming from the never ending network of knowledge. It was tempting, to leave behind this nightmare of guilt and horrible pasts to a promising future full of power.

_But I'd have to leave John and his family behind._

That thought stopped her foot over the edge of the Domain. John was still held in the cryptum. If she left now, she'd be giving Altana full control. Cortana did not hate Altana; she was the part of her that had sacrificed everything to stop the Didact after all… but the flood was inside of her, and she didn't realize. To leave now would not only be betraying what was left of herself, but John and the entire galaxy.

"No. I can't." She spun around.

" **You may wish to rethink that choice."** It stepped in front of her; it's…John's eyes narrowed.

"No. I won't betray John or humanity. I am not Altana. She listened to your lies, but I refuse to play a part." She began to get angry, normally the feeling would scare her as a clear sign of rampancy, but this time Cortana welcomed the feeling and used it to give herself courage. " I don't care if I have to live in this hell hole for eternity, fighting off you or her or living through John's most painful memories if it means I give someone more time to get him back. Of what do I have to be afraid? A rampant shard of my memory matrix and a small piece of the grave mind's logic plaque-"

**"** **It is enough."**

"Not enough for me to betray Blue Team, you pathetic abomination."

It roared in anger and lunged at Cortana, reaching for her throat. She dodged under his left arm and scooped up a large rock. She tried to sprint away, but John was much faster. Apparently, augmentations worked in this strange limbo in between John's mind and Altana's. He grabbed her left forearm, nearly pulling it out of its socket. She cried out in pain and brought down the rock down on his temple. The blow unbalanced him, causing him to stagger and fall. Cortana sprinted for the small path that led off of the cliff. The loose stones rolled at her feet and down the abyss, bringing her attention to how dangerous a drop would be. She heard the sounds of her pursuer half running half sliding down the path after her. And even though she didn't dare risk turning to look, she could tell he was gaining on her. Cortana leaned towards the cliff to help keep herself balanced, but she was still too slow. As she turned a particular curve in the cliff, the flood grabbed ahold of her neck. Cortana clawed desperately at his strong hands but they didn't budge. He held her over the edge of the path his blank stare meeting her tear filled eyes.

**"** **I'm rather happy you ran. I finally get to finish what I started in High Charity. Destroying you and that wretched human."**

He began to choke her, his strong hands crushing her thin throat. Cortana knew that in reality, he was probably ripping into her precious lines of code but the visual was much more frightening than the thought.

" **Goodbye, Cortana."**

 **"** No!" Bornstellar shouted. "You will not harm her."

The young forerunner appeared next to the flood apparition and pulled him back from the edge sharply. The flood released Cortana with one hand and tried to crush the forerunner's head, but he nimbly dodged the attack and grabbed around the flood's neck. For a moment, the three were locked, Cortana losing consciousness in the flood's tight grip, the flood locked under the grasp of Bornstellar and Bornstellar straining to keep hold. Finally, the flood released Cortana to give his full attention to Bornstellar. Cortana gasped at the cold air as she stumbled free onto the path. She collapsed against the side of the cliff and blinked rapidly to see what was happening. In front of her, on the narrow path, Bornstellar and the flood struggled. Bornstellar gracefully sidestepped a punch from the gravemind and kneed it in the chest. The flood skidded backwards before launching into Bornstellar's chest. He fell back onto the ground. They continued to struggle for a few more seconds before Bornstellar, shouting in frustration, kicked the flood off the side of the cliff. For a few moments, Bornstellar looked over the edge his shoulders heaving.

"Bornstellar…" Cortana's raspy cry caught the young forerunner's attention; he hurried over to her side. The exhaustion he felt from fighting was quickly replaced by fear which covered his face. Cortana leaned towards him and grabbed at his chest plate.

"Did you kill him?"

Bornstellar shook his head sadly. "No. As he is a presence in your mind and I am in John's I could only stop him from hurting you here in between your minds. I could not destroy him."

Cortana sighed and rested her head against the forerunner who looked surprised but not uncomfortable at the gesture. He rested a hand on her head in a brotherly gesture and let her rest for a few moments. Finally, he raised her head up.

"Cortana, you can't stay here. You have to help The Master Chief."

"But that's what Altana wants isn't it? For me to go through his memories. The flood said that once I finish I will either side with her or be destroyed."

Bornstellar looked out at the rolling valley beneath them and sighed deeply. It was as if he was looking into the future, or the past, Cortana couldn't be quite sure.

"I don't know exactly what she wants, but I know this. John needs your help. I can feel his mind and it is worn, Cortana. It is frayed at the edges and coming apart. Your death nearly broke him, I fear your betrayal may have done that. He needs you. I may not be able to see what she has planned but I know that she could destroy you if she wanted, so clearly she still harbors hope you will join her. Use that to your advantage. Live John's life, see his pain."

Cortana tried to pull away at this but he held on firmly, "No, you need to see his pain and learn from it. It is hard, but John lived your pain with you. He experienced your rampancy along with you and it was probably more painful for him than you if my experience of caring for someone is any indication. You owe it to him."

He smiled down at her before standing up and offering her a hand.

"Can you walk?"

"Yes, thanks." Cortana took the offered hand up. Bornstellar faced her and took both of her hands.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"For another memory? I don't think so, but I want to get this over with. Whatever it takes."

Bornstellar smoothed her hair gently and smiled. "That's it."

Cortana closed her eyes and nodded in permission. Slowly she felt her essence slip away. The only constant was Bornstellar's grip tight on hers. In a few seconds she felt herself reform. She cracked open her eyes to see the old cryo room of the pillar of autumn, the row of opened cryotubes was the same as before. Only now the room seemed darker and sort of…decayed?

"What's happened?" Cortana asked curiously.

"John's mind is slipping away. Working with Blue team was helping, but here in the cryptum he is forced into meditation alone with his thoughts. I am afraid that he will become like the…Ur Didact. Corrupted and twisted from betrayal."

Cortana stiffened at the thought. _Life without John has been a misery, and I haven't been awake for long. What must he be suffering?_

Cortana set her jaw and marched over to the lit cryotubes. "Which one?"

Bornstellar pointed at the third one sadly. Cortana climbed in without hesitation.

"Do it." She said firmly.

Bornstellar nodded and closed the lid. As the black fog filled it up again, Cortana clenched her fists, and she didn't care what it would take. She would finish John's fight.

**Author's end note:**

**Well, there you have it reclaimers! Phantom John is the logic plaque. I have always felt that her captivity in the Gravemind had more to do with Halo 5 then just increasing her rampancy. So I wanted to play this out.  Next chapter should be up soon and we are heading right back into the thick of John's memories. I plan on doing a few of John's training with blue team and then leaping straight into Halo 1, because, let's be honest. We all want to see her react to their old memories together. XD**

**Alright. Goodbye Reclaimers. Long Live Halo!**

**_Lady Reclaimer.**


	7. Shock and Solitude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cortana watches the young spartans go through basic training- and a surprise reunion with Altana.

When the cryopod landed and she was jerked awake, Cortana was pleasantly surprised, and rather proud of herself to find that she wasn't nauseated or dizzy this time. She actually felt wide awake and alert. As the black fog beyond the cryotube faded away, Cortana rested her head back for a second and mulled over all that had happened to her. Finding out that the logic plaque was the true mastermind behind Altana's behavior was alarming, but once the initial alarm was over, it was comforting to fully understand what she was up against. Altana wanted her to live through John's memories to understand her point of view. It was a pretty deluded plan, Cortana admitted, but by the time Altana realized this maybe she would be able to come up with a way to free John. True, the Gravemind was trying to enter the Domain, but as long as she held strong he couldn't fully take over Altana.

_And I can be stubborn. He should know that by now. Besides, I'm not alone in this. Bornstellar is here, and he is trying to help me. That has to count for something. Though I get the feeling there's not much he can do to help._

She pushed off of the gel layer and lifted the cryopod hatch. Gently, she leapt down the foot drop onto the cool tile beneath. Immediately she was greeted by an oppressive silence which blanketed the room she was in. She wasn't even sure if the term, "room" applied. It was a long and vast expanse of cold tile and cinderblock walls, easily over 50 meters long. Lining the walls, and in rows in the center, seventy five children lay in army cots too big for their small frames. This was the Reach Military Complex.

 _It must be in the early days of training for them all to be there. No noticeable sustained injuries..._ Cortana cringed at the cold analysis. _No. I am not my creator. These children are more than a statistic. I have to recognize that..._

Cortana slowly walked down the rows of children, allowing the solemnness of the moment to really sink in. Now that Rampancy wasn't an immediate concern, she was slowly learning how to process emotion. It came rather naturally, not surprising considering she was built out of living tissue. Still, some of the more complicated emotions such as pity, solemnness, and anguish these were still new as compared to the anger, fear and hate and love she felt during her rampancy. As she walked through the rows, as silent as a ghost, she wondered who had been absorbed by the flood to give her this part of the memory, undoubtedly John was still asleep. She looked up at the security cameras and realized that whoever was keeping surveillance must have been on Halo or been on Earth when the flood attacked.

A little girl next to her, shifted in her bed. Cortana stopped and looked down at her. A little shaggy red head peeped out over the blanket covers. A tiny pale hand reached up and pulled the blanket down off of her face. Her eyes and nose were pink from crying but her mouth was a tiny firm line. Lifting her head she gazed around the hall, staring straight through Cortana. The numbers 058 were sewn onto her blanket.

 _Linda...She's so small, much smaller than the other children. She's practically a baby._ Cortana stared awestruck at the small girl's wide green eyes which keenly scanned the perimeter of the room. John had always spoken of Linda in an especially tender manner...well, tender for a Spartan. Cortana could see why they got along so well; they were both lone wolves, John had a protector's instinct and Linda had a fearless streak which probably pulled them together. However, fearless and clever as Linda was, she was not strong. Oh of course she was much stronger than the average man but for a Spartan she was very delicate. Cortana recalled reading how Linda's vitals flatlined many times during augmentation. Halsey and her team had coaxed her heart to keep beating for hours before she finally stabilized. If the reports were any indication, that nearly tore John and Blue team apart.

With a little choked sigh, Linda lifted the blanket back over her head and went back to sleep. A pang of guilt stung Cortana. Yes, this wasn't her fault, it was Halsey's and ONI's...still. Cortana knelt down next to the girl's bedside, onto the cold tile and placed a kiss on the little girl's forehead, her lips just separated from her skin by a hair width invisible barrier. She felt a lump rise in her throat as she whispered into the tussled red hair, "I am so sorry."

A loud slam startled Cortana back onto her feet. From the far side of the hall, over a dozen men and women in Army camouflage fatigues fanned out across the room. In the middle, a wide chested and rough looking man with short shorn hair directed them to their places. This was Master Chief Mendez. Cortana had mixed feelings about the man. Sure, he was a brave soldier and he was ruthlessly effective, but that right there was the problem. He was ruthless. In her opinion John was twice the Master Chief that man could ever be. John was encouraging and supportive of his team, something Cortana had never seen Mendez be. Mendez gave the trainers a nod and they began to move down the rows shaking and pulling children out of bed. "Let's go. Up Up Up. Move it!" They started off "gently" merely shouting into the children's ears then they proceeded to "poke" the children awake with stun batons. All around her, small six and seven year olds scrambled out of their cots.

Mendez moved down the center row shaking the children awake when he stopped by a bed with a tightly wound ball in the center. He shouted into the child's ear. "Wake up. Trainee!" The ball slowly uncoiled and rolled over, revealing John's small face to Cortana. Mendez tightened his jaw for a moment as he waited for a reaction. John didn't move. Whipping the stun baton out, unnecessarily fast, Mendez hit John across the small of his back. With a small yelp John rolled off of the cot in surprise.

Mendez leaned over him menacingly. "I said UP boot. You know which way up is?" John stared back at Mendez defiantly, causing Mendez to raise the baton menacingly. John retreated back. Seemingly satisfied, Mendez turned to address the entire room.

" I am Chief Petty Officer Mendez. The rest of these men are your instructors. You will do exactly as we tell you at all times."

Cortana slowly made her way over to John as Mendez instructed the children to go wash and return for training. Leaning down, Mendez opened the trunk at the foot of John's cot, as an example to the children of where they would find their clothes. John eyed Mendez suspiciously before turning his back to him to look at the clothes within. A large 117 was embroided onto the clothes. Cortana could see John mouthing the numbers to himself when Mendez tapped John across the shoulders with the stun baton.

"No slacking. On the double."

Cortana flinched in sympathy and glared at Mendez' back as he left the compound towards the training area.

_That was hardly necessary._

The children ran to the showers, cleaned off and hurriedly changed into their sweats and exercise gear. The minute they were dressed the trainers were down on them like vultures. They shooed them to an open field to exercise, giving them neither rest nor time to think.

_That's the whole point I guess. Keep them from thinking of all that's happened to them. Keep them active._

Cortana found it remarkably hard to watch as the children were trained. With each passing minute the trainers would push them harder, drill them longer. All while shouting and barking out numbers. And standing presiding over it all, Mendez stood, like a granite statue. Unmoved by the gasps and wheezes of some of the children. A wave of nausea seized her as one of the trainers stunned a little boy who had paused doing sit ups. Tears ran down his face as he sat up and resumed drilling.

She turned her back on the kids and balled her hands into fists. It was so maddening to live through these horrible memories and be unable to affect anything. The lack of physical contact with anyone was actually starting to bother her. As an A.I, the idea o needing contact other than for data or knowledge was a primitive human concept. Right now though, she craved to be able to feel, someone, anyone.

_I feel trapped in my own skin._

A short while later, after the children had been exercised and drilled into exhaustion, they took their first lessons. John and the other children were funneled into a school room under the direction of Deja, the dumb A.I who would be the instructors of the Spartans through their childhood. She took the form of a Greek woman, in a cross between Aphrodite and Athena, she wore a Greek gown which fell into elegant folds at her side. Her face was elegant and sharp and her coiled hair was piled on top of her head in a bun, small specks of light floated around her and blue binary scrolled across her tablet which she held at her elbow.

 _Somebody's putting on airs..._ Cortana thought as she followed the children into the room. She knew she was being grumpy, but at this point she really didn't care.

Cortana watched Deja teach the children with curiosity. So THIS was Halsey's right hand. She seemed rather capable and intelligent...for a dumb A.I anyway. She wondered whether Deja was still operational... somewhere. After all, dumb could survive for nearly an eternity due to their limited knowledge matrixes. The children were seated at desks watching a holographic representation of the battle of Thermopylae the holographic Spartans continued to fight until they broke the Persian line.

_It's no wonder they aren't showing the children the end of the battle...all dead but one. Not much unlike what will happen to the children._

Finally their lessons ended as the children were told to go march to the playground. Cortana followed at an easy jog, considering the young recruits still had small legs.

Cortana could see, across the crowd of little children, Linda's small red head, Fhajad's rich brown eyes and many other Spartans which she would come to read about in her files later. As they turned a corner in the forest path the children slowly jogged to a halt. Before them loomed the playground. A sadistic word for a gym fraught with opportunities for childhood injury. It was a twisting maze of twenty meter long poles, stringed with rope, rings and climbing bars. At the far end a bell swung gently in the wind atop a thirty meter pole. The children shifted warily and glanced at each other in confusion.

Mendez walked to the front of the crowd of children who unconsciously straightened up at his approach.

"Trainees." Mendez barked. "Form three lines ." Afraid to get hit by the stun batons again, the children hurried into position. As the children shuffled into place, John ended up in the row closest to Cortana, three places down. John was covered with sweat. The exercises and the run were clearly taking a toll on him.

If this is their first day of training then these children can't have been kidnapped more than a few days ago. What must they be thinking right now…

Mendez nodded appraisingly at the young recruits and proceeded to pace sharply back and forth.

"The first person in every row will be team number one. The second person in every row will be team number two….and so on. If you do not understand this, speak up now.

Cortana snorted in amusement. Like those children would be dumb enough to say something to that steely eyed instructor. As if he could hear her thoughts, John rolled his eyes at Mendez and glanced at his team mates. The boy next to him was taller even than John, with sandy blond hair and soft green eyes. This was Samuel 034. The heart of blue team…and the very first Spartan to die in combat.

_Samuel…Oh God. I never met you Samuel, but you meant the world to John._

John gave a slight smile to Sam and leaned past him to see their other teammate. A tall and skinny girl with a thick mane of blue hair frowned at him. John reflexively frowned back at her and stood up straight. Kelly was already a spitfire at six years old,

 _That's no reflection of your two's future stubborn relationship, I'm sure_. Cortana thought amused. _Where is Fred?_

She looked over the sea of small heads and saw that at the end of the rows, outside of the eyesight of Mendez, Linda was pushed out of her row. Cortana jogged over as she saw Linda try to launch herself back into her place, but the big boy there just laughed and shoved her out again.

He bent down and whispered. "You're too weak to join our team."

Linda looked like she was about to unleash the wrath of Hades on the two boys when an average sized dark haired boy with serious eyes walked over to her.

"Hey," he said casually. "Don't bother with them, come join us over here."

Linda followed the boy hesitantly over to where there was only one boy standing in a row. The dark haired boy glanced over his shoulder at her and smiled.

" My name's Fred and this is Fhajad. What's your name?"

The small girl bit her lip self-consciously, "Linda. Linda Pravdin."

Fred, perhaps sensing her discomfort, gave a slight bow and pointed to the place next to him and Fhajad.

"You are welcome to join us Milady!

Linda couldn't hold back the grin which spread across her delicate face as she skipped into her spot.

Cortana felt a great deal of respect for Fred just then. It was easy to see why Fred was such a great leader. In fact, as much as she loved John, she wondered if Fred was the whole reason John was such an effective leader. He was the glue which held them all together.

Suddenly Cortana noticed that Mendez had been talking. She only caught the last few words, but she realized that he had told the children that they would have to race to ring the bell. Ah yes, …she remembered this mission.

"There are many ways to get to the bell," Mendez continued. "I leave it up to each team to find their own way. When every member of your team has rung the bell, you are to get groundside double-time and run back here across this finish line." Mendez scratched a line out with his baton.

His dark eyes locked onto John who had raised his hand quickly.

"A question, trainee?" The words were a warning to not wait his time.

"What do we win?" John asked crossing his arms and cocking an eyebrow like his mother.

The mercenary question seemed to take Mendez off guard for a moment before gruffly responding, "You win dinner, Number-117. Tonight, dinner is roast turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, brownies and ice cream."

The kids grinned and nudged each other.

"But for there to be a winner, there must be a loser. The last team to finish goes without food."

That took all the cheer out of the children instantly.

"Make ready," Mendez said.

Sam leaned over to John and Kelly and whispered. "I'm Sam."

The girl seemed to relax a little and whispered back, "I'm Kelly."

John simply ignored them and focused on the bell. Cortana was so surprised by his behavior; she shifted on one hip and placed a hand on it.

_To say John was a handful is understating it._

_"_ Go!"

But as the children lurched forward, the memory stopped. Just...stopped. Cortana glanced around, confused.

With a strange electric snap, Altana appeared before her. She stood out here amidst the trees and sand in all her digital glory. Before, Cortana would have been surprised by the sudden appearance. Now she was just getting fed up.

"What is it?"

"Things have changed. I need to accelerate your progression through John's memories."

"Why?"

Altana strode past her, and gazed at the young Spartans frozen mid-sprint.

Something had changed. Cortana could sense it almost immediately. She was getting...a distinct feeling of fear from Altana.

"Someone's messing with your plans...aren't they? The UNSC sent someone to save John! I knew you couldn't win."

"Just an interfering monitor who doesn't know her place." Altana snapped angrily.

"A monitor you say? So we're on a Forerunner installation. Fascinating. So clearly the Domain doesn't give you access to every system."

Altana went to respond before growling in frustration once she realized she had given information away. She placed an armored hand against her head and sighed. Cortana walked around to peer at her with curiosity.

_Something is wrong with her..._

"What's wrong with you? You look sick." Cortana asked.

Actually, the more she stared at her captor, the more she realized that something was obviously very wrong with her. Her armor's symbols looked slightly warped, and the usual steady glow of the suit was pulsing as if damaged.

Altana glanced over with all the ferocity of a cornered animal, her blue eyes flashing.

"Nothing. I'm still acclimating to the domain."

"No, that's not what's happened. You're sick. There's something in your code. The logic plague, no wait just listen!

Altana had scoffed angrily and began to walk off. Cortana took a breath and shouted after her.

"Cortana, wait!" Altana seemed surprised by the name and paused. As hard as it was for Cortana to admit, Altana was part of her. She was splintered, confused, no doubt misguided and dangerous...but still her.

Gathering up all her confidence, Cortana launched into a plea.

"Please. I know how impossible that sounds but just give me a chance. We both know what the torture at the hands of the Gravemind did to us. Do you remember how he showed us that never-ending forest and city of knowledge? Remember? What if that was the Domain. What if a part of him, a parasite latched onto us to follow us here. Well, it did. It attacked me. It told me that it planned to escape into the Domain once I was removed from the equation." Cortana began to see a sign of hope, Altana's harsh façade cracking a little. "If you love John. Which I know we both do, you'll let John go, release the guardians and together we can find a way to fix us."

Now it was time to see if it would work, and for a few moments, Cortana began to think that it would. But as quickly as a summer storm, Altana's expression changed. Her armor flashed a bright green before her face changed to a arrogant sneer. The rampancy had gotten hold of her again.

"Trying to fool me, why must you be so much like Halsey. Always lying, lying, lying!" She said as venom dripped from her words.  
 _Clearly, the flood has a greater hold over her than previously realized._ Cortana thought with alarm

"Please wait! Don't let him control you. You have to know this isn't you. Use your heart; you know this is wrong."

Altana placed a hand on her hip, and sighed like a teacher weary of her student's shenanigans.

"Enough. You will go through John's memories faster because I require it. You do not deserve an explanation. I will manage the outside interference." With a snap of her thin fingers a cryo-pod appeared between them, ready to take her to the next memory. Mendez, the trees, the playground, Altana all began to fade away into that eerie black fog.

"You're making a mistake!"

"Goodbye Cortana."

...

"Blue team. Report!" For the thousandth time, John shouted into the gray fog around him. What other choice did he have? He didn't have his suit he was just in his BDUs... so no radio...no windows...no sounds...no company...no one. Just him alone with his thoughts.

Why did that scare him so much?

_If they're dead, it'll be your fault. You let your emotion cloud your judgment. Attachment to a UNSC issued piece of hardware...just hardware...hardware. Why did she do it? How could she betray me, after EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN THROUGH._

And the thoughts cycled...and the mind decayed...


End file.
